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Mizuho (MFG) to Buy Greenhill for $550M, Expand IB Business

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Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (MFG - Free Report) has agreed to acquire Greenhill & Co., Inc. at $15 per share in an all-cash transaction. This values Greenhill at $550 million and includes debt.

On the assumption that the deal gets regulatory and Greenhill stockholders' approval, it is expected to be completed by 2023-end.

Greenhill is a global investment bank that offers a wide range of financial services to clients across the globe. The acquisition will substantially expedite Mizuho Financial's investment banking (IB) expansion initiatives.

After the deal closure, Greenhill will operate across its 15 locations around the world as a part of Mizuho's business. Its existing leadership team, its brand and global network will remain in place.

The Greenhill business will be included within Mizuho Financial's banking division, headed by Michal Katz, Head of Banking in the Americas. Further, Greenhill chairman & CEO Scott L. Bok will become the chairman of the M&A and restructuring advisory business, while the current Greenhill co-presidents Kevin Costantino and David Wyles will become co-heads of the business.

Masahiro Kihara, Mizuho Financial's president and Group CEO, stated, “We are thrilled to add one of the preeminent M&A firms globally to our platform, and we see meaningful synergies in the combination that will benefit all of our stakeholders.”

Shuji Matsuura, Mizuho Americas chairman and CEO, in joint statement said, “We look forward to making Greenhill’s M&A and restructuring capabilities available to our clients, and to offering our full range of solutions to Greenhill’s clients. The transaction represents an important strategic milestone, and we plan to continue to invest in the growth of our global banking franchise.”

Scott Bok, Greenhill Chairman and CEO, stated, “Our firm was a pioneer in the concept of the publicly traded independent investment bank, and that format served us well for many years. Now, given the evolution of markets, we believe our clients and employees will benefit from our team becoming part of a larger, more diversified financial institution.”

In the past year, shares of MFG have gained 22.6% compared with an upside of 2.4% of the industry.

 

Zacks Investment Research
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Currently, Mizuho Financial carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see  the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Inorganic Growth Efforts by Other Banks

JPMorgan (JPM - Free Report) recently acquired the failed First Republic Bank. The company bought the bulk of First Republic’s $228 billion of assets (adding to its huge $3.7 trillion assets balance) and assumed deposits worth $92 billion by paying $10.6 billion.

The San Francisco-based lender was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) after almost two months of efforts to save the flagging institution. The nation’s biggest banks, including JPMorgan, tried to support the company by infusing $30 billion worth of deposits (in aggregate) to restore investors’ confidence in the banking system.

This followed the collapse of two other major banks, Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank, in March and led to the latest banking industry turmoil amid fears of contagious effect on the U.S. regional banks. Both the banks, Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank, were seized by the FDIC and then eventually sold to New York Community Bancorp, Inc. and First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (FCNCA - Free Report) , respectively.


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